HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has updated their guidance on the SEISS:
People who may now go online and check their eligibility for SEISS.
The coronavirus pandemic has been a seismic shock to the Norfolk economy. It is an unprecedented situation in both scale and impact. What we now understand is that we will not be going back to “business as usual” any time soon. There will be a ‘new normal’ and as a business community we must find ways to adapt and thrive in a very different economic landscape.
Norfolk Chambers would like to understand what challenges your business has faced and is still facing as a result of the impact of Covid-19. We want to ensure that we support the business community in the most effective and useful ways and have designed the Norfolk’s Business Pulse to help us to understand how best to help.
Ensure your voice is heard and listened to by helping us to take the Business Pulse – take part now.
Commenting on the news that the UK and US are to open formal negotiations on a future free trade agreement, BCC Director General Adam Marshall, said:
“While most UK businesses will be focusing on the immediate challenge posed by Coronavirus, strong trading arrangements with both the European Union and USA will support recovery and future growth.
“The government has set a high ambition for UK-US talks, and it will be particularly important to get the details right over the coming months to ensure that any prospective agreement delivers tangible benefits to businesses and communities across the UK.
“Companies will welcome the focus on helping more UK SMEs grow their trade with partners in the US, and on finding ways to move goods, people and data across borders between the two countries more smoothly.
“We will be working constructively with the Government to ensure the needs of UK business communities are considered in negotiations with the USA and with other key trading partners.”
As the government mulls plans to lift lockdown, British Chambers of Commerce President, Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, has written an open letter to the Prime Minister setting out principles for a phased restart of the UK economy.
The leading business group set out its integrated approach, the first step in a three-stage process, as the government prepares to ease initial lockdown restrictions.
The letter reads: “The fight against the virus must remain the top priority, but the planning and communication of a carefully phased approach to lifting lockdown must begin immediately if we are to harness the public health and economic benefits, both now and in the future.”
Praising the work of Chambers of Commerce across the UK as the “first responders” of the business world, the letter is accompanied by detailed policy proposals for safely reopening the economy, comprising steps to:
The letter continues: “This is a time to be bold. Government should not shy away from sustaining high levels of public spending in order to restart and renew our communities and the economy in the short and medium-term, while not tying the hands of future generations.
“An expansionary fiscal policy, including a commitment to transformative infrastructure investment, will be needed in order to generate the returns that will help to pay down the national debt in the longer-term.
“We see the journey ahead as having three phases:
“We plan to share some principles for each of these three phases over the coming weeks, beginning today with ‘Restart’.
“Fundamental prerequisites to beginning this journey include mass testing and contact tracing; clear decisions and guidance on what PPE is needed in workplaces; and proactive steps to ensure adequate supply of PPE to both the health service and to businesses where necessary.”
The letter welcomes the “speed and scale’ of existing government support schemes and indicates that they will need to “continue to evolve to support a phased restart of the economy, enabling businesses to survive through this crisis and thrive in the future.”
The letter concludes: “We commit to working with you and your colleagues across Government on exploring these phases in detail as we plan our path forward. We owe nothing less to our businesses, and the communities and people they support, who have been battered by this storm.”
A new £617m fund to help businesses with under 50 employees who had been excluded from previous coronavirus support measures has been welcomed by business leaders.
The grants are aimed at small businesses with ongoing property costs and will be administered by local authorities, business secretary Alok Sharma and Simon Clarke, minister for regional growth and local Government, Simon Clarke announced.
Local authorities will receive a 5% uplift in funding to help support local small businesses that have fallen outside the scope of the business grants fund scheme.
Grants of £25,000, £10,000 or any discretionary amount under £10,000 will be available to small firms that have demonstrably been impacted by Covid-19 but cannot access the small business grants previously made available to those who pay business rates.
While local authorities will be able to use their discretion when allocating the funds, they have been asked to prioritise businesses in shared spaces, regular market traders, small charity properties and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates.
Commenting on the discretionary fund for small businesses that have previously been outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme, Nova Fairbank, head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers said:
“We have been calling for additional support for businesses and entrepreneurs who have fallen between the cracks, so it is welcome to see additional funding allocated to support some of these hard-pressed firms.
“Clarity and speed are of the essence. Many of the companies that have been unable to use existing support schemes are already on borrowed time – and will need these grants paid out swiftly if they are to survive.”
The Bounce Back Loan scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.
The government guarantees 100% of the loan and there won’t be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months.
Loan terms will be up to 6 years. No repayments will be due during the first 12 months. The government will work with lenders to agree a low rate of interest for the remaining period of the loan.
The scheme will be delivered through a network of accredited lenders.
Eligibility:
You can apply for a loan if your business:
Who cannot apply:
The following businesses are not eligible to apply:
If you’re already claiming funding:
You cannot apply if you’re already claiming under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
If you’ve already received a loan of up to £50,000 under CBILS and would like to transfer it into the Bounce Back Loan scheme, you can arrange this with your lender until 4 November 2020.
How to apply
Chris Sargisson – CEO, Nova Fairbank – Head of Policy, and Philippa Bindley – Head of Customer Experience were joined by Norfolk businesses for an interactive Q&A session on Wednesday 29 April 2020.
With the sheer volume of information on what businesses should and shouldn’t be doing about the Coronavirus – Norfolk Chambers wanted to help try to answer some of the frequently asked questions that many of you have been asking.
Questions around furloughing your employees, and accessing grants and loans; what additional support can my Chamber membership offer me; and what should my business be thinking about to help its ultimate recovery?
We have a series of virtual events running over the coming weeks: https://www.norfolkchamber.co.uk/events
Charities and organisations who have staff on the front-line help keep Norfolk communities safe can now access a new supply system should their PPE supplies run critically short.
Over the last few weeks Norfolk Resilience Forum (NRF) has been working hard to try and support the provision of PPE for those that need it to deliver key services.
Following a successful public campaign, which has already resulted in more than 180 companies coming forward to support the production of most types of PPE, a new process has been put in place to help front-line services source the equipment they need.
Currently there are times when demand is currently outstripping supply and the system will ensure that supplies of items which are in short supply are directed to those organisations with the most critical need. This will be in line with the current Government guidance. It will also help charities and other local organisations who deliver vital services to communities and meet specific criteria gain access to this equipment.
Trevor Holden, Chair of the NRF’s Tactical Coordination Group, said:
“This is a countywide operation involving all partners in the Local Resilience Forum. Partners in the Local Resilience Forum are all working together as the NRF to ensure every single citizen in Norfolk remains safe and critical needs are met.
“This is a tremendous amount of work and I pay tribute the officers and volunteers who are going above and beyond to ensure we deliver every day.”
If you have front-line staff and you require PPE, you should:
Your local council will also be able to pass your request on to the Norfolk Resilience Forum for consideration for emergency provision, where this is available.
The Regulations
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 provide for the closure and operating restrictions of a variety of businesses. Norfolk’s Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers, together with Norfolk Constabulary are tasked with enforcing the requirements.
These regulations were introduced to encourage all of us to stay at home and to practice social distancing when out to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The regulations allow for certain types of retail businesses to remain open. Examples include:
Any retail establishment permitted to remain open must adopt social distancing measures as advised by the Government. These businesses can also operate via a click and collect method to assist their customers in feeling safer when purchasing goods.
All other retail businesses that sell goods (or hire them) in a shop must cease to carry on that business. They can however, operate a delivery service resulting from online, phone or postal orders but must not allow anyone other than those necessary to carry out those activities (i.e. staff) to enter their business premises.
It is currently considered that businesses that are required to close cannot operate click and collect services from their premises.
DIY stores
As homeware and hardware shops are permitted to be open, DIY shops can remain open and/or operate click and collect and delivery services. These businesses must adopt social distancing requirements.
However, it must be remembered that anyone travelling to a DIY store needs to have a reasonable excuse to have left or be outside their home. The regulations state that a person has a ‘reasonable excuse’ where they are travelling to obtain basic necessities which include supplies for the essential upkeep, maintenance and functioning of the household (or the household of a vulnerable person). Travel for supplies is therefore likely to include the need to obtain parts to fix a plumbing or roof problem but not to collect paint and brushes for interior decorating.
Garden Centres
As the types of businesses that can remain open include food, pet food and hardware retailers, it may be that some garden centres are permitted to remain open where these goods are sold alongside more traditional garden centre products.
Businesses must adopt social distancing measures.
All customers must have a reasonable excuse to travel to the garden centre. Customers who have made the journey to purchase food or pet food and also, incidentally, buy a plant will be more likely to be deemed as having a ‘reasonable excuse’. Those who have made the journey solely to buy a tray of pansies will not.
Garden centres that are solely plant nurseries are not permitted to open as their retail business type is not listed as being allowed to remain open. They can however operate a delivery service.
If you want to report a retail business that is failing to follow national guidance you can call Norfolk County Council’s Trading Standards on 0808 223 1133.
Further information
Find out more about which businesses should still be open visit:
For support for businesses go to
www.newangliagrowthhub.co.uk or call them on 0300 333 6536.
Or visit
Commenting on UK Finance’s latest figures (30 April) on the number of firms successfully accessing CBILS, the BCC’s Head of Economics Suren Thiru said:
“While the number of firms accessing CBILS is on an encouraging upward curve, a concerningly high number of firms continue to struggle to access this crucial lifeline.
“The Bounce Back loan scheme is a welcome step toward getting cash to the smallest firms more quickly. The UK government and financial institutions should simplify and standardise the CBILS application processes to unlock access for more businesses of all sizes.
“Serious consideration must also be given to the expansion of grant schemes for firms unwilling to take on more debt repayments.”
Thank you to everyone who took part in last week’s British Chambers Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker. Over 700 businesses across the UK, including those from Norfolk responded – making this the largest independent business survey on Covid-19 economic impacts.
The businesses responses are helping to fill a significant gap in understanding immediate economic conditions. And both the Government and the Bank of England and the Small Business Commissioner have all been briefed on the results.
This week’s data collection is now underway from Wednesday 29 April to Friday 01 May – please do take part and help us to understand the impact on the economy both locally, regionally and nationally.
Results from the latest BCC Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker reveal the majority of businesses surveyed ahead of changes to the scheme announced on 27 April did not intend to seek financial support through CBILS bank loans and most of those who had applied were awaiting a decision or had been unsuccessful.
While the appetite for loan support is highest amongst firms with the most urgent cash flow problems, many of these firms did not intend to access CBILS due to concerns they could not repay the loan.
The leading business organisation’s weekly tracker poll, which serves as a barometer of the pandemic’s impact on businesses and the effectiveness of government support measures, received 700 responses and is the largest independent survey of its kind in the UK.
The fifth tranche of polling was conducted from 22 – 24 April, prior to the Chancellor’s announcement of the micro-loans scheme and further changes to CBILS on 27 April. Results in future weeks will indicate whether these changes have helped improve firms to access support.
Access to financial support
Cash reserves remain a key concern for most businesses, with 51 per cent of firms saying they have three months’ cash in reserve or less and 5 per cent of firms reporting no cash in reserve, broadly consistent with previous weeks.
When asked if they have attempted to access finance:
Of the firms who had applied for CBILS:
Some firms also report benefiting from the wider package of government support including business support grants (23%), the expansion of HMRC’s Time to Pay initiative (13%) and the three-month deferral on VAT (29%) and business rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector (16%).
Finance for cash-poor firms
The data suggests demand for finance is higher among firms with three months cash in reserve or less.
Just over half of these firms (51%) have made an application for finance or intend to do so. 43% had no plans to apply.
30% of those who don’t intend to apply said they are not doing so because they say they could not pay back the loan. 26%said they already had enough finance and 23% were waiting to gain clarity on the length of lockdown measures.
This figure suggests that other policy solutions beyond loans – including wider grant schemes – may have to be considered if these firms are to continue trading.
Businesses furloughing employees
The number of firms that had furloughed a portion of their staff rose to 76% as the scheme went live. This is an increase from 71% last week and 66% the week before.
An encouraging number of firms have accessed the Job Retention Scheme’s online application portal, with 49% of firms reporting they had submitted a claim with ease. 14% had submitted a claim with difficulty and 30% had not yet made a claim but planned to.
The data revealed almost no redundancies had been made by the businesses surveyed, demonstrating the importance of the furlough scheme to preserving jobs.
Commenting on the results, BCC Director General Dr Adam Marshall said:
On access to finance:
“Our data shows loan support has not been getting to businesses fast enough, so this week’s announcement of the Bounce Back loan scheme and further improvements to the CBILS scheme are welcome steps toward getting cash to businesses on the front line.
“Application processes need to be easier, and decisions made more quickly, especially for those firms that have struggled to access CBILS loans.
“There can be no let-up in the pace of work to get cash to stricken businesses, and ministers must keep an open mind on making even more changes to the support available. It may become necessary for the government to consider grants, rather than loans, for some of our hardest-hit firms – who are concerned about taking on debt amid unprecedented economic challenges.”
On the Job Retention Scheme:
“The Job Retention Scheme has become an essential support mechanism for businesses, particularly those unable to operate during the lockdown. With companies now beginning to receive payments, HMRC deserves credit and recognition for getting the scheme up and running successfully.
“While the furlough scheme cannot be indefinite, it will need to run well beyond June 30th in some form to help businesses transition toward a ‘new normal’ as the lockdown is eased.”